Michael Jordan is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players to ever grace the court. The American’s story of success and influence has a far greater reach than he would have ever thought. Every person who knows about basketball knows about MJ and what he achieved in the sport.
Apart from the basketball world, he is also known by a majority of people thanks to the Jordan line of sneakers, which have gone on to become the most popular sneaker brand on the planet. His influence is so great that the soccer icon David Beckham once talked about his influence on him.
Jordan’s influence over Beckham’s decision
David Beckham is a pretty well-known personality in the soccer world. He is known for his great achievements with the legendary Manchester United team and also for his spin with the Real Madrid Galacticos squad. Beckham revealed how Michael Jordan influenced his decision to don jersey number 23 in his career after he left the great Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
In 2012, Beckham admitted that he chose the number 23 because of Michael Jordan. “I chose number 23 because of Michael Jordan,” said David. Beckham left the legendary Manchester United team under Sir Alex and went to the Spanish giants Real Madrid. He had worn the number 7 in his entire tenure at Manchester but the number was not available at Madrid.
Madrid’s legend Raul had already claimed the number to his name and taking it away from him wouldn’t be a good idea. “Raul wore number 7, there was no way that I was even thinking about taking it from him and I do not think it would have been accepted very well if I had asked that question,” said Beckham.
So, due to the unavailability of the number seven, David chose to wear the number 23 on the back of his Madrid jersey. He stated that he chose the number because of his admiration and love for Michael Jordan. “ 23 was available and I had always been a huge fan of Michael Jordan and I have loved him as a player and as a person. Everything that he represented. Everything that he did in his great career. I was a huge fan so it was a no-brainer,” said Beckham.
MJ’s jersey mishap cost Bulls $100,000
Michael Jordan is one of the most valuable personalities in the world, with a net worth of a billion but he once cost the Chicago Bulls $100,000 in fines because of a small change. During the Eastern Conference semi-finals, where the Bulls faced the Orlando Magic, Jordan changed his jersey number from 45 to 23.
It was revealed that Jordan wanted to change the numbers after he had performed poorly in the first match. According to reports from the Chicago Tribune, the small change in jersey number cost the Bulls a hefty amount. It was reported that the NBA had levied a fine of $100,000 on the Bulls for allowing Jordan to change numbers during the playoffs. The Bulls were solely responsible for paying the fines and were initially fined $25,000 after game 2 of the EC semifinals.
The fine was imposed on the Bulls on grounds of failing to inform the league of the change in jersey number for Jordan. Ironically, the Bulls lost in the second round, which saved them from paying more money in fines as the initial $100,000 fine was broken into $25,000 in the four games that Jordan played wearing the number 23.
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